Citizens Trade Fax -- Trucks

[Jeremy Madsen <jmadsen@Essential.ORG>]

  Attached is the most recent Citizens Trade Fax on the NAFTA
  trucking issue.  This edition has not previously been posted, so
  feel free to widely distribute.
  ------------------------------
  
  Citizens Trade Fax
  
  April 15, 1996 
  Vo1. 2, Issue 6
  
  Unsafe Trucks for U.S. Roads, Mexican Drivers
  
  Contact, Jeremy Madsen
  Citizens Trade Campaign, 202-879-4297
  
  NAFTA Opens the Road to Unsafe Trucks
  
  NAFTA required the United States to start opening the highways of
  all border states to commercial trucks from Mexico.  A recent
  survey conducted by the University of Texas showed that 86
  percent of Texans are concerned that increased truck traffic from
  Mexico would pose a serious threat to Texas highways.  The
  Mexican citizens trade coalition, RMALC, opposes the NAFTA
  trucking rules as well.  Mexicans are concerned about the plans
  of huge, multinational trucking companies to take over Mexico's
  transportation system.  Protests by citizens in Arizona,
  California, New Mexico, and Texas concerned about highway safety
  and a lawsuit filed by the Teamsters International Union forced
  the Clinton Administration to delay the implementation of this
  provision.
  
  Low Safety Standards for Mexican Trucks Threaten U.S. Highway
  Safety
  
  A study by the Texas Attorney General's office reveals:
  
  - On average, Mexican trucks are three times as old, twice as
  heavy, and more
   poorly maintained than U.S. trucks.
  
  - Mexican trucks are often not insured to operate in the United
  States.  Therefore U.S. citizens affected by an accident
  involving a Mexican truck could have to pay their own costs for
  any damages.
  
  - As many as 25 percent of the trucks coming into the United
  States from Mexico carry hazardous or explosive material.  Less
  than 10 percent of these trucks are properly marked to show that
  dangerous chemicals are inside.
  
  - Mexican trucks are not required to comply with the same tough
  guidelines for air emissions placed on U.S. trucks.
  
  Low Safety Standards for Mexican Trucks Threaten Mexican Drivers
  
  Information provided by RMALC reveals:
  
  - The Mexican government has not limited the number of hours
  Mexican truckers can drive each day.  This has led to fatigue
  related accidents in Mexico.
  
  - The Mexican government has not mandated that truckers receive
  special training in the handling of hazardous materials.
  
  - Mexican truckers receive as little as $7 per day in pay.  The
  NAFTA provision would allow multinational trucking companies to
  replace U.S. drivers with $7 per day Mexican drivers.  Instead of
  Mexican wages going up under NAFTA, NAFTA's pressure will cause
  U.S. wages to spiral downward.
  
  - With Mexico's economic crisis--where the value of the peso has
  dropped 50 percent and interest rates stand between 50 and 75
  percent--Mexico's trucking industry is unable to overcome its
  safety problems.  Small trucking companies especially have been
  pushed deep into debt by the economic crisis.
  
  U.S. Highways are Already Threatened by Unsafe Trucks
  
  U.S. government data shows that there are significant safety
  improvements needed in the U.S. trucking industry.  Placing
  Mexican trucks on U.S. roads will only worsen the problem:
  
  - Data from the U.S. Department of Transportation reveals that
  1/3 of U.S. trucks violate enough safety provisions to be forced
  out of service when they are inspected.
  
  - U.S. customs agents are able to inspect no more than 15 out of
  the 5,000 Mexican trucks that currently enter the U.S. each day
  to operate in a narrow zone along the border.  How can U.S.
  customs agents be expected to handle the doubling or tripling of
  truck traffic from Mexico under the NAFTA provision.
  
  Stop the NAFTA Trucking Provision - Support the NAFTA
  Accountability Act
  
  Instead of implementing the NAFTA trucking provision U.S. and
  Mexican officials  should be concentrating on improving highway
  safety standards and providing fair wages to truckers in both
  countries!
  
  The NAFTA trucking may be temporary!  President Clinton must
  maintain the NAFTA trucking delay!
  
  Support the NAFTA Accountability Act (HR 2651 and S 1417)!  
  
  Citizens Trade Fax is a service of the Citizens Trade Campaign, a
  coalition of environmental, labor, consumer, family farm, and
  religious organizations promoting environmental and social
  justice in U.S. trade policy.
  -----------------------
  
  For general information on trade contact:  Citizens Trade
  Campaign, 1025 Vermont Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20005. Tel. 202-
  879-4297, Fax 202-783-0444.